Students look at ways to compare fairy tales as a genre.  The lessons use Ella Enchanted and The Courageous Princess as a framework for journal writing and reflection from a first-person perspective. The poem "Grethel" is the next literature piece used for comparison of heroines. After analyzing the various texts, students create their own revision using a different format (poem or graphic novel). The series of 4 lessons include a step-by-step instructional plan, printouts which include:
Common elements of a fairy taleSituations for fairy talesComic book primerAdditional website links
Students share out their works and assess their writing with a class-created rubric.

Students become the character through a series of activities in this lesson plan. The plans cover 3-50 minute lessons.  The lesson scaffolds through steps from listing personal character traits into character analysis of a popular example from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Graphic organizers and charts connect adjectives to character traits,  Lists of character traits are included in the lesson as a beginning framework. An interactive piece is included on the link, allowing students to create their own character charts. A final activity involves students guessing each other based on their use of "strong adjective" descriptions.  All handouts and graphic organizers are readily available on the website.